The Sins of a Clan
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: Things become quite hectic when a strange white female gargoyle falls into the Manhattan Clan's lap. What are they to do with this strange young gargoyle? Why is she alone? Why am I asking you? Brooklynxoc rated for safety pls r
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Gargoyles

A/n: the events of Lexington's dream were borrowed with permission from **Swiss Army Knife**'s story Trio the rest is my own stuff.

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**The Sins of a Clan**

It was a stormy night and everyone seemed a little on edge, especially amongst the members of the Manhattan Clan. They had seen foul weather before, but nothing quite this severe.

Lexington looked out into the storm but the small, web-winged gargoyle didn't dare brave leaving the safety of the castle for fear the wind would catch his connected wings and send him over the edge and to what would be a certain demise.

He returned to the rest of the clan, he had already been told to stay indoors by clan leader Goliath, not that he needed to be told that going out was a little too risky for a gargoyle his size with his wing style.

He sighed and went over to watch television with Hudson who looked rather surprised that the young gargoyle would chose to sit with him when there was so much he could be doing

"Something bothering you, lad?" he asked gently

"I've been having a strange dream the past few days" Lexington looked at the elder gargoyle

"Why don't you tell me about this dream" Hudson said turning the television off

"Well, Hudson, it's basically the same every time I have it, I'm in the rookery with two others, I'm guessing they were Broadway and Brooklyn, it looks like them. We're all in one corner of the rookery playing together when three gargoyles come up to us, I can't see them very well, but then again, I must have been just a few weeks out of the egg so my eyesight wasn't that great" Lexington said "one of the three reaches down and picks up Broadway and I can hear them talking but I can't understand what they're saying" After a while they put him back and pick up Brooklyn they continue talking for a while, put him back and then... the attention comes to me. The only words I can understand are wings and web-wing, but not much else"

Hudson was thinking for a moment, he couldn't believe that Lexington remembered that incident, he had been just weeks old when that happened.

One of the gargoyles assigned to the rookery had taken notice of three gargoyles that had forged an early bond with each other and one that seemed odd that she wanted him to look at because she thought he might be somehow deformed and didn't have wings.

Hudson had taken one look at the youngster and nearly busted out laughing, there was nothing wrong with that active little gargoyle, he was just a web-wing.

He told the young female she had nothing to be concerned about, but that she should watch that little one carefully as he was probably going to end up being the source of her headaches until he was old enough to leave the rookery.

"Lexington, I hate to tell you this but that was no ordinary dream, that is a memory of when you were just a few weeks old." he said

"What, you mean that really happened?"

"Aye, lad, I remember that, the gargoyle that was picking up your friends was me, and no your vision probably wasn't all that clear back then. What surprises me is that you remember that far back"

"Me too... why did you come look at us?"

"Well, one of the females tending the rookery came to me with a concern about you and she wanted to know what I thought of the situation." Hudson said "The only problem was she had never seen a web-wing before, she thought you didn't have wings at all and was worried for your future in the clan. Besides, as leader of the clan it was my job to check on the young and make assessments"

"So, there was no problem with me at all?"

"No lad there wasn't, but I seem to recall that you gave that poor lass a fair few frights before you left the rookery." Hudson chuckled

"How did I do that?" Lexington asked "Or do you know?"

"You fancied climbing... on anything that was still long enough for you to get your claws in it, be it a wall, one of your rookery siblings that happened to be larger than you, or a full grown gargoyle it didn't matter to you lad."

Lexington couldn't help chuckle slightly

"So she was afraid I would fall and get hurt" Lexington assumed

"Yes, you liked getting on our heads, you especially liked Goliath's head for reasons we never figured out. We went down to the rookery a couple of times and you would always end up on top of Goliath's head, it was like you were drawn there by some magical force."

The conversation continued for a while until something caught the attention of all the gargoyles present. A small female gargoyle stumbled in, soaked and obviously wounded.

Goliath and Broadway were the first two to get to the female's side as she collapsed unconscious. She barely managed to squeak out a help before she lapsed unconscious.

Elisa arrived a few minutes later to see the group tending to the strange new arrival.

"Goliath, what's going on?" she asked

"We do not know, she came in looking for help and before we could find out more she fainted." Goliath explained

"She isn't fully grown yet, she will get a little larger than she is" Hudson said

The young female was completely white, a bit smaller than Brooklyn and a bit lager than Lexington, but held no resemblance to either, she was round faced and looked a little like Angela, but there were few similarities between the two females. Her snow white mane was pulled back into a single braid that hung down between her wings and the membrane of her wings had a slightly pink hue.

"She's albino..." Elisa observed "... she doesn't have a lot of pigment in her skin thus the white coloring and the pink in her wings has to do with the blood flow, I think, I'm not exactly sure about that part."

"This is extremely unusual... you are more likely to see two web-wings in a single rookery group than one white gargoyle. This be the first one I've seen" Hudson said

"I have never seen a white gargoyle either" Goliath said

The white female began to awaken, her pink eyes opened and she looked around herself in confusion. Her eyes rested on Hudson

"Where am I?" she asked "Old one, are you the leader of the clan?"

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"I was but I handed the role to my second in command" Hudson replied pointing out Goliath

"I lead this clan now" Goliath said

She looked over to him and could tell it was the truth

"Where am I?" she asked again

"You're in Manhattan, in Castle Wyvern it has been rebuilt on top of the Eyrie Building" Goliath said she looked confused, everything seemed so foreign to her.

She started to stand, but Hudson stopped her

"Rest, lass, you need to wait for sunrise to heal your wounds" Hudson said

She relented as it was a command from an elder

"Okay, I will do as you say" the young white gargoyle said

"You may call me Hudson..."

"I thought it was against tradition to take on names" she said

"Aye, it is, but when you are having to deal with relations with humans it makes it easier to have a name" Goliath said

"So you all have names" she said in confusion

They all nodded

"So what do I call you?"

"Goliath,"

"Brooklyn, second in command"

"I'm Broadway and this is Bronx"

"Angela"

"Elisa"

The white gargoyle looked at the room's sole human occupant nervously.

"So maybe I should take a name... but what to use?" she seemed a little awkward and confused

Hudson sighed and looked at the young female gargoyle

"Fiona" he said after a moments pause

She gave a gentle smile

"Fiona... I like it..." she said softly

"So Fiona, how would you like to join our clan?" Goliath said

"I... I don't know if I should..." she trailed nervously

"We are offering you the protection of the clan and a safe place to rest for the day... but we can't make you take our offer, it is up to you" Goliath said

Fiona thought for a moment

"Take your time, lass, you don't have to rush." Hudson said gently

"Do you mind if I stay around for a little while and see if I like it and give you my decision then"

"That is fine" Goliath said "the only thing we ask is a fare chance"

"Of course, why would I not give you that?" the female now dubbed Fiona smiled she had a light Irish accent and seemed quiet but Hudson could tell there was more to this female than met the eye.

Hudson pulled Goliath to the side

"Lad, there is something about that lass that I don't quite understand" Hudson said "where did she come from?"

"I do not know, maybe she is from Avalon, but Angela didn't seem to recognize her and all of the Avalon clan members were given names upon their hatching."

"She is Irish lad, we do not know where the lass came from or what she has seen, but we cannot turn her out."

"And we won't, she hasn't the support of a clan and at her age she will need that support more than ever."

Fiona sighed sadly, the memories of her own group or clan as these gargoyles called it weighed heavily on her mind, how they had sent her off in hopes that she might find safety as they were being wiped out by lack of a proper food source. She hadn't been the only one they sent into the world in hopes they could form a new clan or be accepted elsewhere but they seemed the most eager to send her off.

Her surviving rookery siblings had been sent out, she was the only one to make it to Manhattan, but she wasn't sure how. She knew she couldn't have made it all the way from Ireland to America where she had learned she was over one night.

"How could I have gotten here?" she wondered quietly

"We're trying to figure that out ourselves... where were you before... the last place you remember being?" Brooklyn asked

"Ireland... with my 'clan'" she sighed "we were in a very remote area, and the drought had left us with meager food resources so several of my rookery siblings and myself... we left to find somewhere were we would have enough food to survive and ease the strain on what rations we had." Fiona sighed sadly "I have no idea how I got all the way to Manhattan"

"That explains a lot about the fact that you had no name, your clan stuck to the old traditions." Brooklyn said

"I do not know that any of my clan has survived" Fiona sighed sadly "I know that a lot of my rookery siblings are dead due to the food shortages."

"You might have been brought here by magic, have you ever heard of Oberon?" Lexington asked

"Yes... one of our elders used to tell legends of Oberon that he had heard when he was young"

"I think he might have had a hand in the fact that you came here" Goliath said "He doesn't take you where you want to be, he sends you where you need to be"

"That is what I've heard as well" Fiona said "maybe I was meant to come here"

Elisa felt a pang of distrust, it all seemed a bit too convenient for her liking. The gargoyles had their doubts but they weren't going to turn out one of their own kind.

That was when Elisa began to really look at Fiona and began to notice that she was quite thin, and looked undernourished.

"I do not know if what she says is true" Goliath sighed to Hudson

"It looks like she hasn't had a proper meal in several nights... I don't know how long it takes for Gargoyles to start showing signs of being undernourished but she's showing some profound signs of it." Elisa said to Goliath

"Aye, lass, she is, and it takes quite a long time for a gargoyle to get into that condition."

"So that must make her story, at least partially true... her clan must have run low on food so they had to ration it out to those that needed it most."

"The clan leader along with the warriors, then the clan elders and the recent rookery brood along with their caretakers, then the rest... she and her rookery siblings had the idea of leaving to allow more food to go where it was needed" Goliath said "She just ended up here with us, where food is plentiful and where she can find the safety of a new clan and a new start"

"Do you think any of her rookery siblings will make it here?" Elisa asked

"I do not know, lass, if she is any indication, the rest might be worse off than her." Hudson said "we have no idea the condition of her rookery siblings, they might not have survived leaving the safety of their clan. The lass is quite hearty, but I fear that there may be more to the story than what she says... I wouldn't hold it against her lad, she doesn't know us and this is a foreign land. Give her time and she will open up and tell us what she is hiding."

"Right now we need to get her back to a healthy weight," Elisa said

"And how do you propose we do that?" Goliath asked turning to Elisa

"Start out with lighter meals, starting out with rich foods might cause illness and set our progress back even further," Elisa advised "And it might be a good idea to encourage her to have several snacks throughout the night, keeping food on her stomach will help a lot."

"Thank you lass, that is a good plan" Hudson said "we can see if we can't get her something to eat"

Hudson left the small group and returned to Fiona's side

"How could starting with 'rich' foods make her ill?"

"If her body isn't used to it, she may become physically ill, meaning vomiting which weakens her and makes things worse... it can happen with humans... I'm not sure about gargoyles, but it's better safe than sorry especially in her condition"

"I must agree my love, she could not handle that, her condition looks far too frail"

"Fiona, what say you to a bit to eat?" Hudson asked as he got to the youth's side

Fiona's stomach growled and gave Hudson all the answer he needed

"Come lass, let us see what we have"

"Okay... thank you" she said, she seemed to have a good sense of manners and treated Hudson with quite a lot of respect.

"I noticed something, lass, you seem to treat me with a fare bit of respect, might I ask why?"

"It's something that was taught among the members of my clan, we were told from an early age that an elder is be treated with respect for many reasons, but the most common thing I was told was because it was the right thing to do." she said "we lost many of our elders though..." she looked down quietly

"You were close to one of the elders that was lost, weren't you lass?"

"Aye" she gave a sad sigh "he was a lot like you, my rookery brothers thought that he was very harsh, but I knew better, I knew that he only wanted us to meet the potential that he saw in each of us." Fiona sighed "he passed recently" she fingered at a cord around her neck "I was told that, right before he passed he told another member of the clan that I was to have this, and I was given it the night he passed."

She held up a small object that was on the cord, it was an old coin that had been converted into a necklace.

"I've worn it ever since."

"I am sorry lass"

"Don't be, he... I think he had something to do with why I'm here..." she said bringing her wings around her shoulders "I know, I must sound completely daft to say that, but I do, he was the one that protected me when I was very small he was the one I would run to when I was frightened or needed someone."

"I do not know about that, lass, but in a way, he has never left you... and for all we know you may be right."

Hudson and Fiona sat down to a meal together and she ate calmly as they spoke, Hudson couldn't help notice that she had lost a lot of her muscle tone and they would have to work on that as well, but he was sure that the clan could handle it should she chose to join them.

Meanwhile Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and Angela were talking quietly among themselves about the new arrival, it would mean that Angela was no longer the youngest in the clan nor the only female gargoyle.

Fiona was of different stock meaning it was impossible for her to be related to any of the gargoyles that made up the Manhattan clan and that was a good thing for the clan and their hopes for procreating and enlarging their tiny clan any at all.

Knowing who was related to whom might have been unnecessary in the middle ages when their clan was large and the likelihood of two gargoyles being related was relatively slim. Now, it was a little more important to know the truth.

They had already figured out that no member of the trio was related to the other, or Goliath and Angela.

A loud clap of thunder caught the gargoyles attention, and Hudson noticed that Fiona looked frightened, there was something she hadn't said

She whispered something in Gaelic unaware that he was fluent in Gaelic

"[Do not worry, you are safe here]" he said also in Gaelic

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: before I start, I want to thank **Obsesive Reader** for betaing this chapter and making a good chapter into a great one

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Hudson sighed it would take time to gain Fiona's trust, but it seemed he was the closest to doing so. She was more open to him than any of the others in the clan; there was something odd about that. Most gargoyles would have either been open to all or none at all, but she had selected one to favor, and that was Hudson.

He figured it was because he reminded her of a lost member of her own clan, but he wondered if that was in fact a good thing. It prevented her from properly mourn her lost gargoyle elder, and prevented her from truly see Hudson for who he was.

Then a few nights later, she said "Goliath, I just realized something"

"What would that be?"

"That if my old friend hadn't passed on I wouldn't have left my clan and if I hadn't done that I wouldn't have made new friends like you Brooklyn and Hudson"

It became obvious after that she that knew Hudson was a different gargoyle that only held some similarities to her friend; it was just that she sought an elder for comfort, and he was the one that had been the kindest to her; not to mention the one to give her a name.

After a few nights she really began to open up, not just to Hudson, but to the rest of the clan. It was obvious that she normally had a very vibrant personality as she became more social among the clan members.

She was steadily gaining weight back from what she had lost, and was filling out to be quite a nice looking gargoyle. She was also building her muscle strength back up so as to be able to defend herself should the need arise.

It was about midnight when she approached Hudson in the television room. It was obvious she was nervous about something.

"Hudson, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it, lass?" he asked motioning for her to sit down as well.

"It's about something that happened long before I left my clan." she sighed "Back when my rookery siblings and I were quite small. Right as we were ready to leave the rookery something happened... there was a massive storm, and part of our rookery collapsed. Several of my rookery siblings were killed in the collapse, and to this day several of my rookery sisters are terrified of thunderstorms, as I am."

Hudson looked stunned; of all the reasons she would be afraid of thunder that was the last one he would have ever dreamed of.

"Lass, why did you not tell me sooner?" Hudson asked gently as Bronx came over and rested his head her leg

"I... I wasn't sure if I could, Hudson ,every time I tell that story I think of the lives that were lost that night, and..." she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Hudson sighed sadly,

"Listen lass, sometimes we have to put the past behind us, no matter how bad that hurts to do," Hudson said gently, "you cannot dwell on the past, and forget to live."

Meanwhile another gargoyle had entered Manhattan, he wasn't in very good condition either, but he had a reason for being there, his rookery sister was there, or so he heard.

Goliath came into the room with Fiona and Hudson and Fiona stood wiping her tears

"Goliath, I... I would like to tell you what I have decided... I want to join your clan, that is, if the invitation is still open for me," Fiona said.

Goliath didn't say anything for a moment.

"The invitation was always there for you to accept Fiona," Goliath said.

She smiled slightly,"Thank you, Goliath."

"Why were you crying?"

"Just dredged up bad memories from a long time ago," she sighed.

Fiona left, and Goliath turned to Hudson

"Why was she so upset, old friend?"

"That isn't my story to tell, lad," Hudson said with a hint of sadness, "She will tell you when she feels ready."

Meanwhile she had gotten to where the rest were to see a new gargoyle standing there.

"Brother, what are you doing here?"

"Brother, is he one of your rookery siblings?" Brooklyn asked.

"Sister, you need to return to Ireland with me," the newcomer said urgently.

"Why should I? Have you forgotten why we left, brother? So we could have a chance of survival, this is my clan now!" Fiona said angrily.

"How can you turn your back on us?"

"I never turned my back on you... I just... if we had stayed we would have died!" Fiona said as a clan elder entered, "Besides, did you forget how the clan turned their backs on me?"

"I order you to return," the elder said.

"NO, I refuse!"

Goliath came in as the argument continued.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" he roared his eyes glowing white, "You cannot come into my home and make demands like that!"

"Are you leader of this group?" the elder asked.

"Aye..."

"Then I demand you relinquish this female to return to her clan."

"NO, I saw the condition she was in when she arrived after you put her out. You haven't the resources to keep yourselves healthy much less get her back to full health, I will not turn her out not after so much was put into nursing her to where she is now!"

"And I won't allow it either..." Elisa said.

"Who do you think you are, human?" the elder asked.

"I am Detective Elisa Maza, NYPD, and according to New York law Fiona would still be classified as a minor, and with the condition she was in when she arrived you and the other leaders of the clan would have been charged with neglect of a child, and when you turned her out you abandoned her, and surrendered all rights to her custody; I am going to ask you to leave now, otherwise I will have no problems with charging you with neglect and abandonment of a child."

"Come home things have changed," her brother said.

"Did you forget that the site of our homestead is unstable, even to this day... the partial collapse of the rookery should have told our elders that the caves in the area were no longer safe, but no they stayed there, and just moved our rookery to another location. Those young are still in danger every moment they are in the rookery!"

"No, I haven't forgotten... I could never forget what happened to our rookery siblings," he stated.

"What..." Broadway, Lexington, Angela and Brooklyn looked at her in shock.

"When did your rookery collapse?" Goliath asked.

"When I was young, right as our caretakers had deemed us ready to leave the rookery, many of our rookery siblings never made it out alive!" she cried in fury, "We had a rookery clutch of thirty-four, and only twenty-two ever made it out of the rookery alive." Hot tears of anger streamed down the adolescent gargoyle's cheeks.

"That adds something else to your list of charges, child endangerment" Elisa said, "do you want her to keep adding to the charges, or do you want to leave, and let her have peace here in Manhattan?"

"We will go, it is apparent that she has found a home here, and friends that are willing to stand up for her," the elder said.

"Yes, just remember us sister."

"I will never forget brother," Fiona said through her tears.

The two gargoyles left, and Fiona collapsed sobbing uncontrollably.

The rest stood back except Hudson who went to her, and began to try and comfort her.

"Lass listen to me, you made the right choice, it may not seem that way right now, but you took a step towards your future," he said fatherly, and to Elisa's surprise embraced the young gargoyle.

"I know Hudson," she said accepting the comfort from the elder, "it started by joining this clan."

"Wait, she joined the clan?" Brooklyn said in surprise.

"Not too long ago, why do you think I stepped up so quickly to stop them?" Goliath said.

"I stepped up, because they needed to be put in their place," Elisa said, "they cannot impose their will on her after they abandoned her to fend for herself, I wasn't going to let that happen."

Fiona calmed slowly, and walked over to the trio, she knew that she would have to chose a mate in this clan, but she didn't mind, she had choices, and that made her happy.

Angela walked to the side of her fellow female gargoyle

"Does that mean that you're my sister now?" Fiona asked playfully.

"You can call me your sister if you want to," Angela replied.

"I do... this... thank you, all of you for opening your home to me."

"It's your home now too, Fiona," Lexington said with a smile.

Suddenly another female entered, and the clan turned looks of fury in her eyes.

"So you're adopting strays now," she said.

"Demona... this is none of your concern, you abandoned the clan, and now have no say in what happens here," Goliath said.

Fiona looked confused at first.

"Look at this girl, she doesn't deserve to be part of this clan!" Demona scoffed.

"I went through too much to make it here, I will not listen to you put me down!" Fiona said in fury.

"Your just a little nobody."

Fiona's eyes glowed red which was a stark contrast to her snow white skin

"I am somebody, I have a name and you would take good to learn it, I am Fiona!"

Before Hudson or the rest of the clan could react Fiona had doubled up her fist and punched Demona in the face, hard.

"Demona, I'd be leaving if I were you, lass," Hudson said as he noticed that one of the younger males' eyes were glowing white.

"I will return," Demona left, and Fiona looked at Brooklyn in shock, he was calming, his eyes had quit glowing, but she could tell he was still riled up.

"Brooklyn, what..."

"I wasn't going to stand by, and let Demona bad mouth you like that, it took a lot of courage for you to leave your clan," Brooklyn said.

Fiona sighed, she had noticed that Brooklyn had begun to look at her different, but thus far, Hudson had still been treating her like a child so she wasn't sure what to think.

She left the room saying that she needed a moment to herself.

Brooklyn started to follow her.

"Let her be, lad, she has a lot going on. This is a very turbulent time for the lass," Hudson said placing a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder.

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

"I know Hudson, but... I don't know; I feel like by standing back I'm making her face all of that alone," Brooklyn sighed.

"She has demons that no one can defeat, but her," Goliath said, "but that doesn't mean that we can't let her know that she has the support of the clan."

"I will go talk to the lass,"

"No, Hudson, I will speak with her," Goliath said, "I think this needs to come from the clan leader."

"Aye, go ahead lad, but let her know that if she needs to talk I'm willing to listen." Hudson sighed wryly, there was so much Fiona had yet to let them know and he felt the strain of being the one she confided her secrets to

"I will old friend," Goliath said.

Goliath left, and Hudson turned to Brooklyn, "Lad, may I speak with ya," he said turning to walk away.

"Okay, Hudson," Brooklyn said while following Hudson back to another room.

"I've noticed that you seem awfully protective of Fiona; you do realize she is not ready for anything that you probably want yet, she's a might too young." Hudson had his back turned, but Brooklyn could tell that he was concerned

"I know Hudson, but I feel like I need to be there for her even if she isn't ready for a mate she could always use a friend, right?" Brooklyn said looking at Hudson.

"Aye, you have a point there, the lass can never have too many friends, but it seems like... I don't know how I'm going to explain this lad..."

"I know, I seem overprotective of her, but I don't want her to get hurt again. Not after what she's seen, and had to go through."

"I agree, we cannot let that happen again, and we won't," Hudson said.

Meanwhile Goliath had found Fiona in the library.

"Fiona I wanted to speak to you," he said in a gentle tone.

"I don't know what to think, Goliath, the way that Brooklyn looks at me, I don't understand..." Fiona had her wings caped around herself and it looked almost as if she were hugging herself. Goliath noted that she didn't look him in the eye and realized that she was truly insecure

"He cares about you."

"I know that, but I keep thinking he is going to expect something from me and..." she turned her back not wanted Goliath to see her face

"Fiona no one has that kind of expectations of you, we just want you to be healthy, and happy here."

"I know Goliath it's just, it's so hard for me to understand everything that's going on, I'm on the cusp of something that I don't understand,"

"Growing up isn't easy, but you aren't alone; you have us, the members of the clan won't look down on you if you start asking questions about things," Goliath said.

"Goliath, do you think that Brooklyn..." she turned back to Goliath, he could see this look, like she was hoping that Brooklyn cared about her

"I cannot say what Brooklyn wants other than to say that he cares for you in a way I think he has for few others," Goliath said.

A few moments later Brooklyn walked in,

"Fiona, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"I will let you be alone," Goliath said as he stepped out.

"Fiona, I know I seem protective, and that's just, because I don't want to see you get hurt," Brooklyn explained.

"I know Brooklyn... I've just had so much happen that... it isn't easy to step into a new clan like this; I don't know really what you expect of me as a member of this clan."

"Why did you join?"

"Because I didn't want to be alone anymore, Brooklyn, besides you guys didn't treat me the way my clan did. They thought I was bad luck; they thought that the reason they were having so many problems was, because I was there. I was being ostracized in my own clan, Brooklyn, then they had the nerve to demand that I return to be treated badly again. I don't think so, I'll never face that again!"

Goliath who had not moved beyond his hearing range had overheard this, and went to Hudson.

"Hudson, I know I should not eavesdrop, but I overheard Fiona telling Brooklyn that her clan treated her as if all their misfortunes were, because she was bad luck."

"Some clans do believe that a white gargoyle be bad luck," Hudson shook his head, "I never understood the true reason behind that, I think it's, because they are so easy to spot; they don't exactly blend in anywhere except maybe in areas where there is a lot of snow."

"Maybe that is the reason that perpetuated the rumor that white gargoyles were bad luck."

"So few of them exist that I wonder how the rumor got started."

"Maybe they weren't as uncommon in her clan as they were in most," Goliath suggested.

"Perhaps, I'm not going to theorize lad, she is here with us, and we need to help her feel welcome among us. Let the lass know we don't think she's bad luck."

"I think she is figuring that out, Hudson, it's just, she's coming of age, and that is a difficult time in her life."

"After all she went through being different from the rest of her clan has wounded her emotionally, her heart bears deep wounds Goliath, some of which will have to be taken care of before she can find her mate. Some of them, only her mate can tend." Hudson took a deep breath and turned his left side to his student as if thinking that would keep Goliath from reading the anger in his eyes.

"It seems from the looks of things that might be Brooklyn, she has confided things in Brooklyn that she hasn't even confided in you old friend," Goliath said.

"Aye, perhaps it will be, he'll be good to the lass, I know that much."

Elisa entered the room, she felt slightly concerned about the ordeal that Fiona had been through.

"Where is Fiona?" she asked Goliath.

"Last I saw her she was in the library with Brooklyn," Goliath stated.

"But Goliath she's young, naïve..."

"It's Brooklyn."

"I keep forgetting that young male gargoyles aren't as hormone crazy as their human counterparts," Elisa sighed, "My first instinct is to react for the safety of the girl, because I'm a cop, and I've seen one too many teenagers get lives ruined, because some guy decides to take advantage of her naivety. In this situation I have to remind myself that they are gargoyles not humans, and the fact that I know Brooklyn wouldn't take advantage of this situation for the simple fact that he would get the beating of his life."

For Elisa the situation seemed confusing in a lot of ways, but it was obvious that the clan had no worries about what was going on so she figured she shouldn't either.

Brooklyn looked at Fiona in shock, he'd had no idea that she had been treated that way, and the way they begged her to return didn't lead him to think that this was true, was she trying to get sympathy? Then Goliath returned and Fiona left to get a snack.

"Is it true that some clans treat white gargoyles as if they are bad luck?" Brooklyn turned to Goliath the look in his eyes read that he didn't want it to be true but feared it was.

"Unfortunately, it is true, Brooklyn, and what is worse is they wouldn't want other clans to know that the white one existed, and she would probably never have found a mate in her own clan due to the fact that they were afraid that her offspring would also be white."

"They acted like they genuinely wanted her back."

"They wanted us to doubt any bad things she told us about them, they didn't want to tarnish the reputation of their clan. Pride before the well being of their own it shouldn't happen, but it does," Goliath sighed sadly.

"Is there anything I can do for her?" Brooklyn asked.

"The thing she needs right now is someone who isn't afraid to be there for her in her time of need," Goliath said.

Brooklyn nodded, he could do that, it was just a matter of would she let him.

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Fiona got to the kitchen to see Broadway standing there at the fridge.

"Broadway, I'm looking for a light snack... where could I find something?" she asked.

"Look around, there's food all over this kitchen," Broadway replied he started to get something that would be a high calorie treat, he then remembered the stern warning he had gotten from Elisa, but then that had been two months earlier, and she had been eating stuff like that since just in small portions.

"Do you want something sweet?" he asked.

"No, Broadway, I don't think so," she sighed, "I don't really know what I want..."

"Maybe you aren't really hungry at all, lass," Hudson said from the doorway

"What do you mean?"

"What if the truth is you're bored? You haven't done a lot of fun things lately, it has all been work towards getting you healthy again. How would you like to not think about that for a while, and join an old gargoyle for a movie?"

"What movie are we watching?" she asked.

"I believe it's called 'Rush Hour' it stars this fellow named Jackie Chan," Hudson replied.

"If you're going to watch a movie, do you know what you need?" Broadway asked with a smile.

"What do we need, Broadway?" Fiona asked.

"Popcorn!" Broadway replied, "I believe there's some microwave popcorn on the shelf, I can make it, but the problem is, there is two different types... there's butter flavored and kettle corn, I don't know which one to get?"

"The buttered is quite salty, am I right, lad?" questioned Hudson.

"Yep, and the kettle corn is kinda salty, kinda sweet, I prefer the buttered myself, but that's all a matter of taste," Broadway commented.

"It isn't extremely sweet is it, lad?" Hudson asked warily Broadway would eat just about anything.

"No, I... I think I've had some of that with Lexington the other day, it isn't all that sweet, it's just a bit of sweetness," Broadway assured.

"That sounds rather good, maybe we should have some o' that," Hudson said, "we can share a bowl right?"

"Yes, we can" Fiona agreed looking to Hudson with a smile.

"Um, if I make the popcorn, can I join you?" Broadway asked.

"Why not, lad, the more the merrier, but if you do a lot of chatterin during the movie you'll get kicked out on your tail," Hudson warned.

"Understood," Broadway said, "Quiet during the movie. I'll make some butter flavored popcorn for me, and kettle corn for you two."

Hudson and Fiona went into the television room, and were soon joined by Broadway who had two bowls of popcorn. He handed one to Hudson, and kept one for himself.

Fiona put in the movie, and pressed play. Elisa had done them the favor of getting the tape past the previews so all they had to do was watch the movie.

Hudson was rather surprised that both Fiona and Broadway were silent through the move. Fiona was reaching over every few minutes to get a handful of popcorn out of the bowl, she seemed to be a lot neater with it than Broadway was, Hudson shrugged that off, he would make Broadway clean it up so it was all good.

The movie ended, and they started to go their own ways.

"Broadway, do you mind cleaning up the mess ya made with your popcorn, lad?" Hudson asked.

"I'll get it," Broadway sighed, and went to work sweeping up the kernels of popcorn he dropped.

Fiona went into the castle library to find Angela reading a book.

"Angela, what do we have to read?" she asked.

"Well, Fox Xanatos recently brought in some things that I asked her to get," Angela explained, "Do you like mysteries?"

"What kind of mysteries?" Fiona asked.

Angela explained the Nancy Drew books to the best of her ability.

"That sounds pretty good," Fiona smiled, and took the book from Angela. She read the title, "Nancy Drew, Secret of the Old Clock" she read out loud.

"That's the first book in the series... I've already read it if you want to read it now," Angela smiled.

"This sounds pretty good," Fiona replied, and took a seat next to Angela to begin reading.

The two girls were reading for only a little while before the urge to chat about things that only another female would understand took over, and they both closed their books, and began a long drawn out girl-talk.

Brooklyn looked into the library, and noticed Angela and Fiona talking, and smiled slightly; it looked as if Fiona was going to fit into the clan quite well.

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

The chapters from three to five were betaed by Obsessive Reader, but I haven't heard back from her in quite some time so I'm going to go ahead and post this unbetaed version so you don't have to wait any longer for an update. I will replace this with a betaed version if and when I get it

* * *

Brooklyn knew that Fiona was safe with Angela and went on his way.

Fiona sighed and looked at Angela

"Do you know what happened to Hudson's left eye?" Fiona asked

"I don't know" Angela replied

"Oh... who should I ask?"

"Father might know, or you might ask one of the other members of the clan." Angela said "I wasn't around when it happened... that was long before I hatched"

"Oh..." Fiona sighed

"Why didn't you ask him what happened to his eye?"

"I don't know" Fiona sighed "I just never thought it was a good thing for me to ask"

"Well, it doesn't bother him when you ask him things, all you need to do is ask" Angela said gently

"I know, but..."

Angela glared at Fiona

"Okay, I'll ask him" Fiona said her pink eyes showing that she didn't like Angela being so pushy

Fiona arrived at the television room and saw Hudson in his chair, Bronx was at his feet, asleep.

"Hudson..." she found the words for the question wouldn't come to her

"What is it, lass?" he asked his tone clam

"*What happened to your eye?*" she hadn't intended to ask the entire question in Gaelic, but that's how it came out, Gaelic had been her clan's first language for centuries and they taught their young both English and Gaelic, but most considered their first language to still be Gaelic and spoke it amongst members of the clan. Fiona had discovered upon beginning her stay with the Manhattan Clan that the Wyvern Clan, which had become the Manhattan Clan didn't teach their young Gaelic and that the only one left in the clan that spoke it was Hudson

"The archmage caused this damage with his magic" Hudson replied and recanted the tale of how his eye was injured for the young gargoyle

"Oh... can you not see out of it?"

"No, haven't been able to for a long time"

Hudson sighed a small smile gracing his features, Fiona was a curious one. Then again she had so much she needed to learn, wanted to learn about the clan and life. She had learned early on that Elisa Maza was a valued member of the clan even though she was human, not only that but Goliath had deep feelings for the human cop which Fiona found a bit curious. She didn't look at it odd anymore thought as she had grown used to seeing Goliath and Elisa together, the way Goliath looked at Elisa when he thought no one saw him, or the little things that Elisa would do that let her see that they were very much in love.

"Ya have never been so hesitant to ask me anythin before lass, what was so different about this question?" Hudson asked gently

"I don't know, I guess I just didn't know if it was okay for me to ask about that, I thought it might be a bad subject" Fiona said her pink eyes focused on a spot on the stone floor.

"Now you look at me lass, I want ya to know that you can ask me anythin, I may not always have the answer but I will try me best" Hudson said he wasn't angry, far from it, he was slightly hurt that she felt nervous asking him things.

"Hudson, do you think Brooklyn..." she sighed "... do you think he wants something from me, I mean he's always around if I need him, and I was..."

"Lass, I don't know what life was like for ya in your clan but I promise you this if that lad tries to hurt ya I will make sure he regrets it"

"Oh, no Hudson he's never tried to hurt me it's just... I'm coming to a point where... there is so much I don't understand, so much that the members of my clan didn't teach me. I would ask them something and they would look down on me for askin, like I had no right to speak to them" Fiona felt the tears fall and she so wanted to keep them at bay, but there was something about being around Hudson or Brooklyn that caused her to let her guard down. Hudson was like the father figure she always hoped for, Brooklyn the possible mate that would have never appeared even in her wildest dreams.

"They wouldn't teach you?" Hudson looked a bit baffled

"They would give my rookery siblings their lessons and exclude me, I learned what they thought I should know but nothing about love or having a mate, none of that... what I do know I managed to learn from viewing the older members of the clan or gleam some details from my friend before he passed away." Fiona refused to look at Hudson

As much as Hudson didn't want to believe what Fiona was saying he knew that it was all likely true. They wouldn't have wanted her mating and having offspring that were white like her and he felt it was an outrage to deprive a young gargoyle of knowledge just because she was different. Had she been hatched in the Wyvern rookery while he led the clan he wouldn't have let it happen and he would have punished Goliath had he allowed her mistreatment.

Hudson did his best to comfort Fiona and he knew that he had quite a bit to teach her before she could chose her mate. That was a chose he had a feeling wouldn't take much time, Brooklyn was close to her already and she felt safe and comfortable with Brooklyn so he figured in the end she would chose Brooklyn as her mate.

Hudson and Fiona made a sort of schedule where she would have nightly lessons to fill in the gaps in what her clan taught her, what she should have learned years prior. He had already figured out that she hadn't been abused or mistreated when she was very young, she had been treated as an equal to her rookery siblings, it had only been when she got older that they changed their viewpoint of her in that they didn't want her to mate and add another white gargoyle to the clan.

A few nights passed and Fiona began to understand what Brooklyn was doing, he really was helping her to understand a lot of things in the clan, more so than even Hudson could. She also understood that Brooklyn genuinely cared about her in a way that those in the clan she hatched in didn't.

"Goliath"

"Fiona, what brings you here?" Goliath asked

"I was wondering if I would be allowed to patrol with the others, I have been steadily gaining strength for months now" she said "I haven't been far beyond the castle and..." Fiona stopped to look up at the sky

"What is wrong?" Goliath asked

"That... look..." Fiona pointed at a speck that was growing larger and coming ever closer to the castle.

"What is it?" Goliath said

"It looks like another gargoyle... about your size" she replied

The strange figure got close enough for Goliath to recognize it as Talon

"Don't worry, that is an ally, his name is Talon, he was once human, but he was mutated by a scientist that worked for Xanatos."

"Oh... but how do you know this?"

"He is Elisa's brother, his human name was Derek Maza" Goliath sighed as Talon landed

"Who is the new gargoyle?" Talon asked

"This is Fiona, she came to us from a struggling clan, she sought a better life and we took her into our home and our clan"

"Any member of this clan is a friend of ours, I'm Talon, Maggie and Claw should be here shortly." he said

Fiona was happy to meet new individuals, as things had become rather stale in the clan. Maggie and Claw landed and Maggie was happy to see a new girl.

"You're new here... I'm Maggie"

"My name is Fiona"

"That's a pretty name" Maggie said with a smile

"Hudson picked it for me because I couldn't think of one" Fiona replied "I guess you could say Hudson named me"

"You seem close to Hudson"

"He is a close friend and he is the only one in the clan I can hold a conversation with in my first language"

"What is that?" Talon asked

"Gaelic" Fiona replied "It was the only language my clan spoke for centuries they began speaking English more recently, but we still learn Gaelic first then English. I guess that is just our tradition."

They entered the castle and Fiona went to talk with Hudson

"She has been getting tutoring with Hudson lately as he found that there were gaps in what her clan had taught her. They never wanted her to learn about what it would mean to have a mate because they didn't want her to mate"

Maggie and Talon were stunned, how could anyone treat their own that way.

"We figure that she is just coming of age and will soon be, physically, ready to take on a mate. Weather or not she is emotionally ready when that time comes, only time will tell." Goliath gave a heavy sigh "Fiona has seen so much despair and heartache in her young life, I only hope that she will soon find herself true happiness."

"I know one thing, Goliath." Brooklyn said

"What is that, Brooklyn?" Goliath asked

"No matter what she chooses she will be loved" Brooklyn replied

"Aye, that she will" Goliath said

To be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Fiona found Hudson in the library struggling to read a simple book

"Hudson, what is wrong?"

"This... I don't think I will ever master reading"

"Hudson if there is one thing I'm good at, it's reading, and helping others learn to read." Fiona said

"Well lass, maybe you could help me" Hudson replied

"After what you have done to help me it would be an honor to help you with this" Fiona smiled

After a while Hudson realized that Fiona was a natural teacher, she had almost endless patients and a gentle disposition that made him wonder about the day when she blew her temper yelled at an elder from her clan and punched Demona.

Elisa had french braided Fiona's hair that night as she had wanted to change the style since she had changed a lot of other things in her life.

After a lesson in reading they went back to what Hudson was teaching Fiona, she had learned quite a lot in the time he was teaching her and he knew that soon she would be ready for what the future held for her.

A few weeks later and Fiona was at the point in her life where she was ready to find her mate. She sighed and gave the hemline of her dress a bit of a tug, she was so nervous, but she knew she had made the right choice.

"Brooklyn, may I speak with you" she said her Irish accent thickened due to her nervousness.

"Of course Fiona, what's going on..."

"I... I don't know what I should say, I guess, I've cared about you for a long time, and you've been there for me through so much, through my hardest times and... that is more than I could have asked for in a friend or perhaps..." she sighed "... perhaps a mate"

He smiled and guided her into his embrace

"Fiona, I want you to know that if you do want me as your mate I will make sure that nothing bad happens to you, I care too much to let you get hurt again"

"I do, I want you, I love you"

Brooklyn brought his wings securely around Fiona

"I love you too, Fiona, more than you'll ever know"

Hudson smiled as he walked away from where he watched through the crack in the door. Fiona was safe and in good hands

'Now only time will tell if the lass will have children that look like her and if she does, so be it, they will be fine additions to our clan, just like their mother'

The End


End file.
